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Life's pretty but pricey at Avenue Rd. and Davenport

Easy access to fine food, scenic walking paths and the Toronto Reference Library are what Adrienne Kress loves about living in the Avenue Rd. and Davenport Rd. area.

"It has absolutely everything," says Kress about the library at 789 Yonge St., just north of Bloor St. "You can't take a lot of it out because it's for reference. You have to photocopy. But they have first source materials."

Kress, 28, has a natural affinity for books and spends a fair bit of time researching the habits of people from the past. She is the author of the youth novel Alex and the Ironic Gentleman and her second book, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate, is expected to hit shelves in January.

She is also a self-professed geek. "I am a correspondent for a site called Hardcore Nerdity (hardcorenerdity.com). I can't hide it any more."

The multi-level library offers Kress an excellent chance to people-watch and it offers free Internet for the public.

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"It's just nice to get out of your house and be around so many people. I always wonder what everyone else is doing."

While the library gets rave reviews, we start at The Toy Shop at 62 Cumberland St. Her parents introduced her to the place. "They used to take me to that toy store when I was little and we used to go shopping ... it was this day event kind of thing." During the summer the store blows bubbles at the front door, she says.

"It's actually a really cute, fantastically neat little store, and they have all kinds of toys."

What else do you love in the area ?

A first for Four City Blocks, her dentist, "Dr. Dan," at 1235 Bay St.

"He took out my wisdom teeth last year. It's a lovely dentist office actually. They are really good at making you feel comfortable and they have a little waterfall."

Next we head west on Cumberland and straight into the centre of Yorkville.

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"I never see celebrities during the film festival," says Kress as we walk past haunts of the rich and famous. "The only celebrity I have ever seen was Steven Seagal."

Any downsides to the area?

Beauty comes with a price. There are several restaurants she has been dying to try but they are out of her price range, such as Joso's at 202 Davenport Rd.

"You go in and they smell so amazing, but I can't afford them so I go to Valu-mart, which is a lovely store as well," she says.

The Valu-mart is in the basement of the Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor St. W., also home to the Varsity Cinemas, which are delightfully free of all the video games and flashing lights that make many large-scale theatres into migraine central, as far as Kress is concerned.

The Manulife also houses the Panorama Restaurant, with what Kress calls "one of the best views in the city."

We stop by the Indigo, also in the centre, so Kress can check on her first book.

"I wrote that," Kress says to a little girl she reaches past to snag a book.

We are eyed with all the skepticism an 8-year-old can muster.

"I'm not sure she believes me," Kress says.

If you wanted to treat yourself, where would you go?

High tea at the Windsor Arms, 18 St.Thomas St. "It's a little pricey again, but it's really fun." Another favourite is C5 Restaurant Lounge at the Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queens Park. "If you feel like splurging ... it's the kind of food where it's quite small portions but by the end you are incredibly full."

What about more affordable fun?

Kress, a film buff, raves about the Cumberland Theatre, 159 Cumberland St.

"That is good because you get a lot of smaller movies, like foreign films."

She likes to go to the Duke of York pub, 39 Prince Arthur Ave., for calamari and quesadillas.

Any hidden gems?

Theatre Books, 11 St. Thomas St., tucked into the same street as the Windsor Arms.

"It is the best bookstore in Toronto for plays and anything theatre-related. You can find things there you can't find anywhere else."

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